We're now in the third week of ProQuest Season 1. It's no secret that Bravo, Star of the Show is exactly that, with the latest Guardian from Everfest picking up ProQuest victories around the globe. Despite claiming victories last weekend in Austria, Spain, the United States and other countries, Bravo isn't the only hero in town.
The Classic Constructed landscape is shifting and the Sculptor of Arc Light- Prism seems to have many answers to the Bravo question. Prism picked up a massive win in the UK at Living Realms in the hands of Matthew Light and the trend of the Light Illusionist collecting victories and Gold Cold Foils doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. Later in the week, Davis Kingsley will be back to bring you in depth analysis on the Star of the Show, Prism and all the other heroes of Rathe for week three of the inaugural ProQuest season.
The Runeblades are among us, and they are putting up the numbers! Whether it's Chane, Bound by Shadow, Briar, Warden of Thorns or the first of his kind, Viserai, Rune Blood, all three Runeblades have taken full advantage of their abilty to deal both physical and arcane damage, shaking up the metagame and racking up Ws around the planet.
Outside of the these aforementioned heroes, the ProQuest season has seen some stellar innovation and next level choices for a much Star of the Show and Prism- dominated environment, showing that indeed, where there's a will, there's a way.
Cerberus Games in Wellington, New Zealand saw a Katsu, the Wanderer mirror match final, at Epic Loot Games in the US, Lexi, Livewire stormed the field and picked up the win and over in Finland at Oh My Game, Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire personified perseverance and won the Gold Cold Foil and Pro Tour invitation!
The ProQuest metagame is eclectic and dynamic, perfectly poised for innovationa and ingenuity. Keep reading for coverage of some of the events that took place last weekend!
Living Realms - United Kingdom
Matthew Light on Prism defeated Jacob Hand on Bravo, Star of the Show in the 61 person field featuring some well known names including 2021 UK National Champion Matt Foulkes.
Top 8:
1st: Matthew Light -Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
2nd: Jacob Hand - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Matthew Foulkes - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Robert Catton - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Aaron Parsons - Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire
5th-8th: Thomas Farrow- Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Mark Warren - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Isaac Murray - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
Cerberus Games - New Zealand
In a star studded 30 player field including 2020 New Zealand Nationals runner up John Jarique and 2021 National Champion Nick Holding, the final came down to two Katsu mains (in a field where three out of three Katsus made the top cut), with both Jared Fung and Jack Whit having been on The Wanderer since day one. In the end it was the young prodigy Jack Whit who came out with the win and is on a mission to make it to Pro Tour New Jersey!
Top 8:
1st: Jack Whit - Katsu, the Wanderer
2nd: Jared Fung - Katsu, the Wanderer
3rd-4th: Ryan Bastion - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Joshua Benfell - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Nicholas Holding - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: John Jaurigue - Lexi, Livewire
5th-8th: Jayden Allan - Katsu, the Wanderer
5th-8th: Khoi Dinh - Lexi, Livewire
Epic Loot Games - United States
45 players turned up to the Epic Loot Games ProQuest in a hotly contested Top 8 including ProQuest Orlando 2021 Champion Michael Hamilton, but in the end Matt Kohls on Lexi, Livewire defeated Roger Bodee on Viserai, Rune Blood to pick up the Gold Cold Foil and invitation to the first ever Pro Tour.
Top 8:
1st: Matt Kohls - Lexi, Livewire
2nd: Roger Bodee - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Jake Krebs - Chane, Bound by Shadow
3rd-4th: Nick Downing - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Cody Murray - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Michael Hamilton - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Michael Treon - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Ben Hannan - Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity
Good Games Newcastle - Australia
Australian National Champion and three-time ProQuest finalist Hayden Dale made his third final in as many weeks, however in the end it was Ryan Lewis-Jonns who picked up the victory over Hayden's Viserai with Briar, Warden of Thorns!
Top 8:
1st: Ryan Lewis-Jonns - Briar, Warden of Thorns
2nd: Hayden Dale - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Xiao Wang - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: 可耻 失败者 - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Luke Ranasinghe - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Samantha Ison - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Remi Grasset - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Frank Karamaroudis - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
Awesome CCG - United States
In a diverse metagame full of big names, 2021 Calling Las Vegas Top 8 finisher Joe Colon took out the event with Chane defeating James Silver and Prism in the final.
"We had two pretty significant games during the event. A game between Lexi and Briar was over in just six minutes after an intense back and forth race between the players. The Lexi (played by Chris Monroe) made it to the semi finals. There was also a game in which the Viserai player (Ben Hebert), threatened 38 damage in a single turn, ultimately securing his place in the top 8."
Top 8:
1st: Joe Colon - Chane, Bound by Shadow
2nd: James Silver - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Christopher Monroe - Lexi, Livewire
3rd-4th: David Letourneau - Lexi, Livewire
5th-8th: Pheano Black - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Devin Bell - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Benjamin Hebert -Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Trent Lennon - Bravo, Star of the Show
MAWO Cards - Austria
David Reitbauer defeated Florin-Cristian Loghin in a Bravo, Star of the Show mirror match final in this 21 person event to pick up the Gold Cold Foil and an invitation to the first ever Pro Tour!
Top 8:
1st: David Reitbauer - Bravo, Star of the Show
2nd: Florin-Cristian Loghin - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Daniel Oneli - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Markus Ramsner - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Francisc Loghin - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Alexander Tsohohey - Levia, Shadowborn Abomination
5th-8th: Long Dao - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Valentin Mackl - Bravo, Star of the Show
Goblin King Games - United States
In the 45 person event featuring a superstar Top 8 filled with household Flesh and Blood names such as 2021 US National Champion Tariq Patel, Rob Cygul and Alex Keeler, it was Tanner Propst on Viserai who defeated Rob Cygul's Bravo, Star of the Show in an intense finale!
"Without much surprise, Starvo was the Hero to beat, while Prism was a close second.
There were a few heroes that made an appearance that we didn't expect to see.
Congratulations on making it through 6 rounds of tough competition! Tariq Patel took the top spot going into Top 8 elimination, with Zachary Porter taking second and Rob Cygul in third.
Unfortunately, Tariq was knocked out after the first round of eliminations. The final match pitted Rob Cygul against Tanner Propst, with Tanner taking home the coveted First Place Win!!!
We would also like to give a special shout out to our Judges, Christopher Hershberger (Level 0) and Matt Pollitt (Level 1) for assisting in making this a memorable event for all! Thanks for all the help"
Top 8:
1st: Tanner Propst -Viserai, Rune Blood
2nd: Rob Cygul - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Joseph Santianna - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Zachary Porter - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Tariq Patel - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Bernard Hsia - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Chris Brummett - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Alex Keeler - Bravo, Star of the Show
Azkaban Juegos - Spain
Julio Alfonso Piñeiro defeated Ferran Riu in a Bravo, Star of the Show mirror match to pick up the victory, a Gold Cold Foil and an invitation to Pro Tour New Jersey in this 42 person event.
"There were 42 players from all over Spain who met to compete in the Azkaban Games ProQuest. Although there was a great variety of heroes, "Bravo, Star of the Show" monopolized most of the tables, he was really the star of the show. "
MINI INTERVIEW WITH THE WINNER, JULIO ALFONSO PIÑEIRO
Q) Why did you choose Starvo over other heroes?
A) First I tried axes with Dori, but it didn't give me good results, so I wanted to play a new character for me like the Guardian and the new Bravo was a very interesting and powerful option.
Q) Which has been the most difficult pairing and which one have you enjoyed the most?
A) Most difficult, Prism. The two games I lost were against her. I have to practice that pairing more. I enjoyed going up against the other Starvos, hard but very intense games.
Q) What's your favorite card in the deck? Any card you would change?
A) My favorite card, Pulverize (malicious smile). I will make some changes to the deck, that's the good thing about card games, you never stop refining the deck. I haven't even been able to play an Awakening, a card that makes you play differently.
Q) What was your best play or highlight during the tournament?
A) One play during the Top 4 consisted of playing Starvo's ability and then playing Pulse of Candlehold to retrieve an Oaken by putting it on top of the deck and then activating Crown of Seeds and swapping your arsenal for the top Oaken and casting it again; I got to make that play during the finals, which made me very happy.
FUN FACT 1 - During the final Julio had all three elements to resolve Starvo's ability and thus end the game, he did NOT notice and attacked normally; there was a face palm in the room.
FUN FACT 2 - During the tournament we could see another duel between the current National champion, Jorge against his rival and finalist Francesch; repeating victory for the reigning champion.
Top 8:
1st: Julio Alfonso Piñeiro - Bravo, Star of the Show
2nd: Ferran Riu - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Jesus Garcia Gomez-Valades - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Jose Luis Saenz Soria - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Guillermo Pedernal - Chane, Bound by Shadow
5th-8th: Adrián Ruiz Yague - Briar, Warden of Thorns
5th-8th: Jorge Moreno -Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Jorge “Beeckamm”Jimenez - Bravo, Star of the Show
Rip N Ship - United States
Adam Kohler and Bravo, Star of the Show defeated Frank Bono and Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light to claim victory in this 26 person event!
"The event was great! We had players from the surrounding states come and play and want to come back. Bravo, Star of the Show....was the star of the show! Our local Flesh and Blood hero stole the show from the heavily played Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light! We had a mix of heroes at the event, mostly Prism and Bravo. We even had a match of two Rhinar decks which was really fun to watch! Overall, it was a great experience and was a great outing. As always, Rip N Ship Gaming handed our door prizes after every round, including a seat at our next event, Skirmish Season 4!!
Top 8:
1st: Adam Kohler - Bravo, Star of the Show
2nd: Frank Bono - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Ryan Moran - Bravo, Star of the Show
3rd-4th: Christian Mendoza - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: David Rivera - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Chris Fazio - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Nicholas Santa - Bravo, Star of the Show
5th-8th: Chad McKittrick - Viserai, Rune Blood
Oh My Game - Finland
Niklas Astner exemplified innovation and invention taking Dash to a first place finish over Kasper Honkanen's Viserai in this 18 player event.
"We had a very friendly event and the players told us they enjoyed themselves very much. The event had 18 players, and as a fun fact three of them were from Sweden. The winner of the Pro Quest was Niklas Astner, one of the three Swedes. He opened a Nullrune Gloves Gold Foil. The side event was a 9 player Monarch Sealed and the winner was Jimmy Tisell, one of the three Swedes (Prism). The third Swede was Armin Soleimanpor, one of the Top 8 players of our ProQuest (Bravo). Heja Sverige! We truly had a fantastic time with the players and it wouldn't have been the same without the Swedish delegation!
Top 8:
1st: Niklas Astner - Dash, Inventor Extraordinaire
2nd: Kasper Honkanen - Viserai, Rune Blood
3rd-4th: Jyri Ollila - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
3rd-4th: Juha Saarnilampi - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Tuomas Kainulainen - Prism, Sculptor of Arc Light
5th-8th: Aleksi Sorjonen - Viserai, Rune Blood
5th-8th: Mikael Teittinen - Katsu, the Wanderer
5th-8th: Armin Soleimanpor - Bravo, Star of the Show